(Bloomberg) -- Shares of consumer-products company Kenvue Inc. rose the most in more than two months after activist investor Starboard Value took a stake in the Tylenol maker with an eye toward making changes to boost the company’s stock price.
Starboard hasn’t disclosed its stake in Kenvue — spun out of Johnson & Johnson last year — or what issues it aims to tackle, but a person familiar with the matter described it as “sizable.”
The stock was up 6.5% as of 12:01 p.m. Monday in New York. Through Friday’s close, Kenvue shares had gained less than 1% this year, compared with the 23% rise in the S&P 500 Index.
The activist thinks Kenvue has some of the best consumer brands in the industry but its shares have underperformed the broader market, according to the Wall Street Journal, which earlier reported the news, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. Other Kenvue brands include Aveeno, Band-Aid, Zyrtec and Neutrogena.
Starboard declined to comment. Kenvue didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Since going public in a US listing in May 2023, the maker of Listerine mouthwash has largely disappointed investors with sales that have been driven by price hikes instead of higher volumes. While the company does business globally, about half of its revenue comes from North America where it’s facing an increasingly budget-constrained consumer.
Skin health and beauty make up about 28% of the Skillman, New Jersey-based company’s business, and its performance in that area has been lagging behind peers’, especially in the US where the company has lost share to L’Oreal’s CeraVe and Church & Dwight Co.’s Hero brands. Kenvue has tried to lure shoppers with new Neutrogena products, increased marketing and by targeting dermatologists to recommend the brand to their patients.
Even as the skin-care industry grew unit sales by 3.6% last year, according to Circana data, sales volumes of Kenvue’s brands fell 4.8%. Those declines continued in the company’s most recent quarter, though higher prices drove a 1.5% increase in organic sales.
Kenvue is also facing pressure overseas, especially in China where it also sells skincare products. In August, the company said that “changing shopping patterns” in the region, along with weak sentiment were hurting the business there.
The company is scheduled to report quarterly earnings on Nov. 7.
--With assistance from Matthew Monks and Catherine Larkin.
(Updates shares in third paragraph; adds company performance from sixth paragraph)
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